C Bolton great defender but.....

[ernie koala]

I love Bolton as a defender...courageous, strong, dependable...rarely gets beaten one on one.
But when I see him charging down the wing, ball in hand, I worry .... he rarely hits a target, . His disposal ,when attacking, ranges from inconsistent to very poor. Given we already have 4 attacking defenders , I'd like to see Craig stay deep or look to hand off when in space. I know, being a defender with poor disposal, he's not Robinson Crusoe...but thought it was worth highlighting... last week was not the only time his kicking has let him down.

[Roscoe]

Must be another Craig Bolton in the Swans that you are talking about

I rate his disposal out of the backline as one of the best in the side

Not as good as Drummond(Bris) or Hodge (Haw) but they are "quarterbacks"

I'd rather see the ball in the hands of CBolton than Richards or Shaw or LRT or a rusty Tadgh after

last week

[sfan]

Agree. Plus was injured a bit in the pre-season. With a game under his belt he will be fine.

[Captain]

I actually like him having the ball, he generally uses it very, very well.

[Roscoe]

I saw CBolton in Late Nov last year at Garie Beach in the National Park when I was doing the Otford to Bundeena walk with a 2 other swans fans. He told us he had just come out of shoulder surgery.
He is not a big guy and another mate who knows nothing about footy reckons that his shoulder surgery was to take part of his shoulder out!

I have nothing but admiration for this guy and Leo Barry. For many years they were our key defenders
taking on huge opponents like Jonothan Brown (did you see him single handedly destroy Carlscum)
and were rarely beaten

CBolts job on that sneaky ,dirty little mongrel Milne last weak was outstanding. CBolton is a champion

[Midfield]

CBolton is a champion

x 2.

[Claret]

Agree he is a champion defender who rarely, if ever, is beaten by his opponent over the course of four quarters.

However, I also have to agree that his disposal by foot is not what it was pre-2008.

[Chilcott]

Would have to agree with Ernie, to a degree.

He is a great player and love the way he goes about things.

However, I feel that he doesn't use the first option, often enough. Seems to hold onto the ball for too long, then has to kick the ball sideways or backwards, so that we maintain possession.

In saying that, would rather Craig kicking it, over some other defenders we have.

[Xie Shan]

I have nothing but admiration for this guy and Leo Barry. For many years they were our key defenders taking on huge opponents like Jonothan Brown (did you see him single handedly destroy Carlscum) and were rarely beaten

CBolts job on that sneaky ,dirty little mongrel Milne last weak was outstanding. CBolton is a champion

Exactly! B2 is a champion, no question about it.

It's a measure of the faith the coaching staff now have in Grundy and LRT that they are now getting the jobs on the likes of Riewoldt and Kosi because of their extra size - they were beaten last week, sure, but it was defensive errors/turnovers that killed us, and we know that they will bounce back. At least we still have the option to use Craig. And he has always been a good user of the ball when in possession.

[Roscoe]

Chilcot and Ernie you both have NFI about footy

OK tell CBolton to just pass it to "turnover Ted" , "Deer in headlights LRT" and "I am just racking up
possessions Shaw" and " I'll be ok now, just a bit rusty Tadgh"

Did you really watch the game against saints last week or WTF are really talking about

No wonder the coach did his block last week. These quartet were the reasons for his spray which I have rarely seen since 2002

Wake up - lets see how many turnovers happen this week from these guys compared to CBolts

[Bleed Red Blood]

He doesn't have pin-point accuracy in the way that Malkeski does, sure - but I can not remember a direct turnover off his boot, and imo makes better decisions than Shaw or Mattner.

[ernie koala]

Chilcot and Ernie you both have NFI about footy

OK tell CBolton to just pass it to "turnover Ted" , "Deer in headlights LRT" and "I am just racking up
possessions Shaw" and " I'll be ok now, just a bit rusty Tadgh"

Did you really watch the game against saints last week or WTF are really talking about

No wonder the coach did his block last week. These quartet were the reasons for his spray which I have rarely seen since 2002

Wake up - lets see how many turnovers happen this week from these guys compared to CBolts

So I take it you'd prefer C Bolton with ball in hand, in space, running down the wing than say.....Mal, Tige or Shaw??
As I said originally, he's a great defender who rarely gets beaten 1 on 1...but...I'm wondering if you watched last weeks game? He turned the ball over with poor kicks/ decisions on quite a few occasions... as he has in past seasons. Many of his shots, particually when on the run in space, miss their targets.
BTW, LRTs disposal by foot, last season, was excellent. Mals and Tiges disposal by foot has always been more accurate than Boltons. And I'd still rather Shaw on the wing with ball in hand than Bolton.

[AnnieH]

Sorry. Wasn't B2 selected All-Australian?

[Triple B]

I think a few posters have been unfair here tbh, particularly Roscoe.

Ernie hasn't questioned any part of Bolton's game other than when streaming out of defence, his kicking can let him down.

FWIW, I can see where he is coming from. I can remember some absolute grubbers from B2 in exactly those circumstances.

Not a huge criticism of B2, he's just stating some facts. Do the same posters get indignant when somebody has a go at Kirky's footskills?? Of course not, we accept his kicking is barely average, but his work in other areas more than makes up for it and we wouldn't have him any other way.

[Plugger1300]

I think C.Bolts is a very reliable kick of the footy. However like most players he is prone to the odd miss kick. Unfair to pinpoint him out of last weeks debacle. When our disposal as a team was disgraceful. I also think saying he doesn't take the first option enough is wrong. That night all the backman took the first option. Which unfortunately was too handball it to someone as they were about to be tackled!!

I know for a fact that the boys will be much improved after last weeks game. We will notch up our first win TODAY!!
Go the Blood Stained Angels

[liz]

I used to think Bolton streaming out of defence was a great option, but thought that last season it was an area where he fell down slightly, compared to previous years. But I've watched the replay of last week's game and thought he was as good in this aspect as any of our other defenders except Malceski (for whom kicking is his weapon).

[Primmy]

I used to think Bolton streaming out of defence was a great option, but thought that last season it was an area where he fell down slightly, compared to previous years. But I've watched the replay of last week's game and thought he was as good in this aspect as any of our other defenders except Malceski (for whom kicking is his weapon).

B2 isn't 21 anymore, even Lewie is 29 (yikes!) so he is probably losing a bit of speed, but makes it up in footy smarts and organisation. Can still stop his man, over and over again. We have others who can stream out or kick a dart.